Grok.com: "What is the best website for metal finishing questions and answers?"

finishing.com -- The Home Page of the Finishing Industry

-----

Maximum safe watt density for zinc plating solution heating

adv.

Q. Good day

I would like to know what is the maximum safe watt density for heating elements used in alkaline zinc plating tanks.

The main worry I have is what effect the very high temperature at the surface of the heating element will have on the brightener and what limit the watt density is safe to be.

Thanks

Boris Siljanoski
- Perth, Western Australia
May 8, 2022

A. Hi Boris. Sorry, I can't answer your question, and I hope someone else can.

But based on my experience as "the plating shop guy" for a firm which helped the major insurance carriers investigate fire insurance claims, I can warn you that electric heaters in polypropylene plating tanks are far-&-away the biggest cause of plating shop fires (an unmonitored solution level drop through evaporation, tank leak, or inadvertent pump-out allows the heater to radiate directly on the plastic and ignite it).

Even with careful double safeties, I don't think you should increase the watt density beyond what is currently accepted practice.

Luck & Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Ted is available for instant help
or longer-term assistance.
May 2022

(No "dead threads" here! If this page isn't currently on the Hotline your Q, A, or Comment will restore it)

Q, A, or Comment on THIS thread -or- Start a NEW Thread

Disclaimer: It's not possible to fully diagnose a finishing problem or the hazards of an operation via these pages. All information presented is for general reference and does not represent a professional opinion nor the policy of an author's employer. The internet is largely anonymous & unvetted; some names may be fictitious and some recommendations might be harmful.

If you are seeking a product or service related to metal finishing, please check these Directories: